Report shows tensions between Wilson, board

A draft copy of a district investigation into Howell Public Schools Superintendent Ron Wilson’s harassment claims against Board of Education President Mike Witt provides insight into what it calls the “personality conflicts and different ideas” that have divided both men.
(Photo:
ALAN WARD/DAILY PRESS & ARGUS
)

A draft copy of a district investigation into Howell Superintendent Ron Wilson's harassment claims against school board President Michael Witt provides insight into what it calls the "personality conflicts and different ideas" which have divided both men.

At that, it's a story involving rejected contracts and tattered flags.

But it also points out the challenges that Wilson, or any superintendent, might face in a district known for strong willed, independent minded board members.

The Press & Argus obtained the draft report Friday afternoon via a Freedom of Information Act request. District officials have indicated the finished report, with grammatical corrections, will be made available to the public. They have not, as yet, specified when or how it could be obtained.

Issued by an outside contractor, attorney Robert Schindler of the Bloomfield Hills firm Lusk & Albertson, the report found no evidence Witt had harassed Wilson.

It also offered a window into the Aug. 18 school board meeting that brought matters to a head.

Disputes at that meeting involved a contract naming the high school football field for a local auto dealer as well as the appointment of a high school administrator.

During the meeting, the board voted to rescind a five-year district agreement with Bob Maxey Ford for football field naming rights, apparently enacted "in contravention" to a board policy limiting naming authority for school facilities to the school board itself.

Board members also criticized Wilson's actions to appoint the high school's acting dean of students to the position full time, saying it appeared to undermine the district's hiring process.

Board members ultimately approved the hiring 6-1, with Witt casting the lone no vote.

Those weren't the only issues raised by Wilson in his Sept. 15 interview with Schindler, the report stated.

Another issue concerned work a company owned by Witt performed in adding a high school door to accommodate its new firefighter training program.

In his own interview, Witt said the work was done for free with charges related "for the actual cost of the necessary equipment."

A 2012 letter from Wilson, referenced by board members during Monday's school board meeting, appeared to involve a salary dispute the previous year.

The report stated that Wilson had sought additional compensation – and Witt supported his request – only to have it rejected by the board as a whole.

"This was not the only matter in which Mr. Wilson apparently projected the will of the board as a whole (or in large part) onto Mr. Witt in his 2012 letter," the report stated.

While concluding that none of Witt's actions in any disagreement rose to the level of harassment, it also cited instances where the board could be accused of micromanaging district activities.

The report noted that before hiring on in Howell, Wilson "saw a dysfunctional relationship between the board of education and the (previous) superintendent."

It noted that Wilson requested board members attend a Michigan Association of School Boards workshop on proper governance procedures and that the board has adopted the MASB governance model every year during his tenure.

But it also noted Wilson's long standing concerns that board members continue to violate policies by directly communicating with district employees rather than expressing their concerns directly to him.

Among recent actions, it cited instances where board members Doug Moore and Michael Moloney had been directly involved in communicating with the district's chief negotiator during last year's sessions with the district teachers union.

In that case, it was Witt who sought to censure both for their actions with Wilson refusing to support that action. Wilson claimed be was being retaliated against by the board president for failing to do so.

It also noted an instance where Witt contacted Parker Middle School staff about replacing a tattered U.S. flag, rather than passing the concern to Wilson.

It also cited an earlier instance where Wilson approved spending $7,000 on billboards promoting the district despite a policy mandating that expenditures over $5,000 require board approval.

Information and conclusions were drawn from interviews conducted with 20 people, including Wilson and Witt.

Wilson was hired as superintendent in 2010, before Witt was elected to the board.

Witt, his wife and fellow board member Kim Witt and Moore are aren't seeking new terms in the Nov. 4 school election.

Wilson remains on nondisciplinary suspension, with pay, from the district while school board members await results of an investigation into his expense reports.

A report on that investigation is expected at the Oct. 27 board meeting.